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HANNIBAL, MO -- To prepare for the pending icy forecast, MoDOT crews will be pretreating all supplementary roads in northeast Missouri beginning at 10 Saturday night.

"When the precipitation is actually falling, we will be focusing on our major roads as our priority," explained MoDOT Maintenance and Traffic Engineer Jennifer Hinson. "The pre-treatment of these minor roads will help reduce the amount of ice that stays on the road, allowing us more time to work on the higher volume roads," she continued.

The major roads, Hinson said, depending on the storm, typically get clear of ice faster due to the volume of traffic. Major highways like US 63, 61, 36 and MO 24 will get continuous treatment throughout the storm.

Travel is NOT recommended Sunday morning. "The temperature is suppose to rise later in the morning, and even though we still may be getting precipitation, we will have a good handle on the roads," Hinson said.

MoDOT encourages those who have to drive to consult the traveler information map online at www.modot.org or calling its 24/7 live customer service center at 1-888 ASK MODOT (1-888-275-6636).